May 21, 2008

TULSA, Okla. - Auburn's Alexey Tsyrenov advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Tournament Wednesday as he defeated Tennessee Tech's Borja Zarco in the first-round match.

Tsyrenov, a junior from Chita, Russia, came from behind to take the 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win in the match and will take on No. 7 overall seed Lars Poerschke of Baylor in the second round.

The victory marks the first time since 2005 that a Tiger advanced in the NCAA Singles Tournament. Current assistant coach Gabor Pelva was the last to make it out of the first round of the tournament.

After taking a 6-3 loss in the first set against 102nd-ranked Zarco, Tsyrenov, who is ranked 27th in the nation, rebounded in the second set for a 6-1 win to even out the match. He kept on rolling in the final set, taking a 4-1 lead before staving off a Zarco comeback for the 6-3 set and match win.

"I could not get used to the way he was playing in the first set, I was going for it too much," said Tsyrenov. "But, I made some adjustments before the second set, thought about it a little bit, and was able to come back."

Head coach Eric Shore was pleased with Tsyrenov's play in the match, especially the way he was able to come back and then hold off Zarco down the stretch.

"Alexey lost in the first set and was getting a little frustrated, but he picked up his level of play, started attacking more and took charge of the match," said Shore.

With the win, Tsyrenov improves to 13-12 on the season and 9-9 against opponents ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top-125. The victory also ends a rough stretch for Tsyrenov as it ends a seven-match losing streak and is just his second win in the last 10 matches.

For Zarco, the loss was just his fourth of the season as the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year ends the season with a 27-4 record.

Tsyrenov now looks ahead to a Round of 32 matchup against No. 8 Poerschke, the No. 7 overall seed in the tournament. The Buseck, Germany native downed No. 63 Dean Jackson in his first-round match, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Poerschke enters the match with a 19-8 overall record.

The winner of the match between Tsyrenov and Poerschke will take on either No. 34 Jack Baker (South Alabama) or No. 19 Justin Kronauge (Ohio State) in the Sweet 16.

Fans can follow all the action with live scoring and a free video Webcast by accessing the Tournament Central Web site at www.TulsaHurricane.com.